The Life of Naruto after Pein
by Deathlywings
Summary: Just something I came up with, and now have been working on whenever I get the chance. It's really crazy at work so not a lot of time to write. PLEASE PLEAS PLEASE comment if you read it I really need the feedback. This is a learning exp for me help me
1. Reunion

Naruto awoke as always happy and ready for a new day. He quickly threw on his clothes and headed outside to go to his favorite training grounds. As soon as he opened his door and saw the buildings around him, the events of the last few days caught up with his groggy mind. The leader of Akatsuki, an organization that was trying to capture the nine tailed beasts, Pein had attacked Konoha while Naruto was away training to become a sage. Pein nearly destroyed the entire village in his crazed search for the Nine Tails Jinchuriki. Naruto arrived in time to save the village from total annihilation but had caused severe damage himself when he turned into the Kyuubi during the fight.

He was still unsure as to how the Kyuubi had gained control...he had spent so long training to suppress his emotions to allow himself as much control as possible. He was somewhat glad however, because during the final stage of the transformation a seal that had been placed inside of him by the Fourth Hokage, Yondaime Minato, had activated. A vision of the Fourth appeared to Naruto and helped Naruto to gain control. He told Naruto that he was his father and that his mother was the previous host for the Nine Tails. He gave Naruto the courage and strength to regain control and defeat Pein without the aid of the Kyuubi.

Because of the enhanced chakra levels the Nine Tails gave to Naruto his wounds were already healed, so he decided to head to go see how his friends were. He changed direction and began heading towards the Konoha Hospital. Upon entering the doors his eyes filled with tears. There were people everywhere, all injured to some extent lying on the floor, tables, counters, any empty space that would accommodate a body. Those who were less injured started cheering his name, but instead of making him feel good about defeating Pein as the cheering had made him feel yesterday, he felt sick to his stomach.

If only I had come back sooner perhaps Konoha wouldn't be in utter devastation, perhaps so many people wouldn't be here right now fighting for their lives, he thought. he was about to turn and flee from the scene when he saw Sakura walking up to him looking tired but triumphant.

"Naruto I'm so glad you're here," she said. "We've had quite a hard time stabilizing everyone but it seems like everyone should be OK, although Tsunade is still stuck in a coma. The Medics say she should recover soon enough though, so I'm not too worried," she said. The look of concern on her face betrayed her strong voice. "Come this way most of the gang is in Kakashis' room, he got hit pretty bad, but he's stable. I kinda wish we could harness some of the Kyuubi's healing power," she laughed.

Upon entering Kakashis' room Naruto sighed with relief. Kakashi was sitting propped up by pillows in a bed surrounded by flowers and people. Bandages covered his body, an IV was connected to his arm, his face was covered by his mask, and his forehead protector covered his left eye which hid his sharingan as usual. His right eye however was bright and filled with laughter. Around the bed Naruto saw Lee with a bandage on his head, Kiba (Minus Akamaru for once), Shino, Chouji, and Ino all seemingly unscathed other than a few scrapes and cuts.

"Naruto come in, come in!" yelled Kakashi warmly upon seeing the young man. Everyone stepped aside as Naruto approached the bed.

"Kakashi I am so sorry I didn't get here soone-" Naruto began but was interrupted when Kakashi drew him into a hug.

"Naruto...you're a true hero. You saved us all, you have nothing to apologize for" Kakashi said.

"But so many people got hurt, if only I had trained harder I could have gotten back sooner and maybe none of this would have ever happened" Naruto insisted.

Kakashi replied, "What you did, no one in Konoha was able to do. In fact all of Konoha working as one was unable to truly face Pein...yet you defeated him singlehandedly! You were off training to do something only Lord Jiraiya has ever truly mastered and were not supposed to be back for almost another month, the fact that you were able to get back in time at all is a miracle for which we are all grateful. So stop fussing...the Medics say I shouldn't get overly stressed and that sour face you are wearing would stress anyone out! I'm alive if not well...Konoha can be rebuilt, and the Will of Fire has only strengthened for us all." Naruto allowed a small grin to spread across his face and began talking to his friends, asking them what had happened while he was away training.

He was in the middle of a conversation with Kiba when he heard Ino ask Sakura how Hinata's condition was. "What happened to Hinata?" he asked concerned.

"You, you don't remember?" asked Sakura.

"The last thing that I remember," he said, "was being pinned to the ground by Pein's chakra transmitters. Then everything goes blank after that until I had regained control.

"Oh...well...Hinata tried to protect you when you were pinned to the ground. Pein very nearly killed her, she's in pretty bad shape," Sakura replied refusing to meet his eyes.

Naruto could tell there was something she wasn't telling him but instead of pursuing the issue he simply asked, "Where is she?"

"She's in room 74 but it's in ICU you can't go...there," she said to his back as it disappeared out the door.

She got up to follow but Kakashi stopped her saying, "Let him go. I think this will be something he needs to do alone, especially since you didn't tell him the whole truth."

Naruto moved quickly down the hall barely noticing the door numbers as he went...40, 43, 52, 55. He stopped when he came in front of two medical ninja standing guard in front of a door labled Intensive Care Unit. "Excuse me, I need to get through here please if room 74 is back there," Naruto said.

"We're sorry Naruto, as much as we would like to let you go through, we can not allow anyone to pass beyond these doors but medically trained ninja and family members." replied one of the ninja. Naruto's heart dropped, although he didn't know Hinata very well, she was one of his precious friends, someone who accepted him. All he knew was that she was injured, in pain because of him, and he was going to get past this door to go see her.

He started to advance upon the first door guard when a familiar voice cut him like a whip, "Naruto! Come with me I need your help to perform a healing jutsu, you've got enough chakra to sustain the jutsu for me." He turned and saw Shizune walking towards him. "Move guards, I don't have time for nonesense he's with me."

Naruto grinned and followed Shizune through the doors. "Thank you Shizune I thought I was going to have to knock them out to get in here so I could see Hinata" he laughed.

She smacked him across the face and said with a stern look, "Naruto Uzumaki just because you think you're a hero now doesn't give you the right to go wherever you want whenever you want, the only reason I helped you get back here is because I know Hinata is back in room 74 and I assume that's where you wanted to go. Knock before you enter, she is probably asleep, and she may already have company. "

Naruto rubbed his cheek as he said, "Thank's Shizune," and began walking away.

He got to room 74 and stopped to take a breath. He knocked and waited for a reply but none came. He assumed she was sleeping, so he decided to enter the room to see how bad her condition was. He had only take a step into the door when something hard collided with the side of his head sending him tumbling over to the side.

He looked up to see Neji Hyuuga standing over him seething. "What are you doing here, haven't you caused Hinata enough pain?" he asked. Naruto could only stare at him dumbfounded. "What gives you the right to play with her emotions for years, then actually physically injure her, and then come here today to play with her emotions some more! Answer me!" Neji shouted as he began to advance on Naruto who had now regained a standing position.

"Neji-san, I really don't know what you're talking about, Sakura said Hinata was injured by Pein, but I don't remember any of it. I just came to see how she was doing...what are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

Neji stopped advancing on Naruto and looked at him closely. "Your really don't remember do you?" Naruto shook his head. Neji sat down with a look of disgust on his face. "It must be nice not remembering what happens to you when the Kyuubi takes control. Hinata intervened in your fight with Pein. It was looking rather grim and seemed you would be defeated. You told her to run away, but, but...she said, ugggh, for some reason she said she loved you! She said she admired you and looked up to you, and for that stupid reason she put herself in between you and that monster Pein! She was stabbed multiple times by those cruel chakra transmitters while you sat by and watched. That's when the Kyuubi began to take over and the chakra leaks from the Kyuubi mangled her body even more. She's in critical condition, all thanks to the one everyone is calling a hero...pathetic. It should be you in that bed, not my cousin. You're worthle- what are you doing!" Neji yelled and jumped up from his seat.

Naruto had listened to Neji's speech, but the biggest thing that caught his attention was when Neji said the word, love. Everything flooded back into his memory and he remembered Hinata jumping in to save his life. He remembered her confessing her love for him, and he remembered the feeling he had then that he was having now. Someone loved him, him! The Nine Tails Jinchuriki, someone most people feared or simply didn't understand. He knew he had to do something for her, knew he had to try and save her. He walked up to the IV's and grabbed the connecting needle and jammed it into his arm. "What are you doing!" Neji repeated.

"Because of the Kyuubi, my blood has healing properties, that's why I look like I don't have any injuries today. I am hoping my blood might help to heal her," Naruto said without looking away from her face.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard get away from her before I call the guards in and have you arre-" Neji stopped talking as he saw red chakra start to swell around Hinata's body. The cuts and bruises she was covered in looked as though time were turned back on them as they began to seal themselves up and return to normal color. The gaping holes in her flesh where Pein has pierced her body with his chakra receivers began to grow new flesh before his eyes and completely seal shut. Her breathing became slow and steady and his eyes filled with tears. He felt a soft breeze and looked up to see Naruto gone and the window open.

Two weeks passed, and repairs in Konoha were hard underway. Naruto was busy at work hammering boards together at the Command and Deployment Center, when he saw Hinata walking by.


	2. Kidnapped!

Naruto stood up, handed the tools he was using to the child next to him, and ran after Hinata. He was about to call out, when he realized something very important. Hinata had not come looking for him once she was released from the hospital. Maybe she didn't want to see him, maybe those words she had said during the fight with Pein were said out of fear, a surge of emotion during a crisis. He was about to turn and head back to the repairs when he noticed Hinata was shaking as if she were crying. Come to think of it, she was moving much faster than she normally did, and she was looking constantly back and forth. Naruto decided to stay back for a while and see what was going on before he decided to do anything else.

Hinata exited the village and began heading into the forest beyond. Naruto followed from a distance, and wondered what she could be doing. Hinata rarely left the village if not to train, and right now training was the least of anyone's priorities, even Naruto's own. Suddenly Hinata broke into a run and Naruto had to hurry to catch up. They ran for several minutes, and Hinata seemed to have lost her shakiness, she now moved with a sureness in her step and purpose in her moves. She no longer looked around but gazed straight forward. She jumped into the trees and began leaping from branch to branch, until she finally stopped at the edge of a clearing. She looked down at her hand and Naruto's gaze followed, noticing a slip of paper she had been clutching fall from her hands. She stood up, lightly dropped from the tree and advanced into the clearing heading towards a building that had been erected in the center.

Naruto descended from the trees as well, and went to find the piece of paper. He spotted it at the base of a tree near where Hinata landed, and stooped down to read it. Naruto read a hastily scrawled note: "Hyuuga Hinata, we have kidnapped your sister Hanabi, and will kill her if you do not meat our demands. First you are not to go for help of any sort, second you will bring with you 100,000 Ryo, we know your family's wealth you should be able to acquire it easily. Third you are to come to the coordinates listed at the bottom, blindfold yourself, and stand at the entrance to the building you will find. Stray from any of these commands, and your dear sister meets and early death."

Naruto was barely able to read the entire message. Hatred and rage was boiling inside him, how could anyone do something like this, and most importantly why now! Everyone was going through enough pain as it was, and now some cowards resorted to kidnapping and intimidation to get what they want during a weak moment for Konoha. Naruto wouldn't stand for it. He looked up and saw Hinata grabbing a blindfold off a peg attached to the door of the building. She put it on and stood there calmly waiting. Naruto began to stand up to chase after her, when a trap jutsu activated beneath her. A sealing circle she must not have noticed, was glowing brightly directly beneath her and she collapsed in a heap in the center. Three ninja appeared from the other side of the clearing and advanced laughing.

"She's out cold, what a fool," said the smallest of the three. "My jutsu isn't very easy to land, but quite potent if the victim is stupid enough to stand in just the right spot."

"Get her inside," said the one closest to the building. "Boys, our work here is almost done. All we do now is find the money, drug them so they sleep for a a day or two, and then we're home free. You were right to pick this one as the target, she's quite trusting. To think she really didn't even go for help," he said looking at the third ninja.

"This one thinks with her emotions to be sure, she probably lost all though of seeking help once she read that we would kill her sister if our demands were not met. Poor fool," he sneered.

Naruto had heard enough, he stood up slowly and created a shadow clone. The clone looked at Naruto, nodded its head, and began moving towards the door the three ninja had just passed through. Naruto moved closed and hid himself as close to the building as he could get, and pulled a kunai from his belt. The clone advanced on the door, and knocked loudly calling out, "Excuse me is anyone there? I'm lost out here I need to find my way back to the village it's gonna be dark soon. Hello! Hello! Nobody, come on I can pay you something if you help me. HELLO!"

The door opened and one of the ninja reached out a hand to grab the clone by the shirt. The clone said, "Oh hi the-," before it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The smoke was penetrated by the kunai Naruto had thrown seconds earlier and struck the ninja in the chest. He fell to the floor in a puddle of blood and Naruto could hear the other two ninja inside yelling. He stood up and raced towards the door, stepping over the body and advancing inside. He had barely taken a step inside when there was a flash of light and he found himself trapped in a similar sealing circle as the one Hinata had found herself in.

"Ha, so the little brat DID go for help did she. She's gonna pay that. We would have simply let them both go if not for you boy, and to make things worse you killed one of us...not good for you, oh no. Yes, yes I think we should have some fun with this. What do you think boy?" asked the ninja with the trapping jutsu.

Naruto merely stood silent, the rage he had already been experiencing bubbling up even more inside of him. The last ninja had been mixing chemicals, and now advanced on Hinata with a syringe in hand. "Get away from her!" yelled Naruto. The ninja grinned, stooped down and inserted the needle into Hinatas arm.

There was a sudden movement beside Hinata, from a form lying prone next to her Naruto hadn't noticed before. A small foot smashed into the ninja's face and sent him flying into the smaller ninja behind him. The trap jutsu that had been holding Naruto faded, and he looked over to see Hanabi Hyuuga breathing heavily, looking at her sister. The two ninja had already returned to their feet, and Naruto quickly created several shadow clones which surrounded them.

"Tie them up," Naruto said quietly breathing heavily himself, but not from weariness, but anger. The clones overpowered the two, and quickly bound their hands and feet. "What did you inject Hinata with," Naruto asked advancing on the ninja who had used the needle.

"Untie me and perhaps I'll give you a taste you meddlesome boy. Who do you think you are, you've only won because a female child caught me off guard; why should I tell you anything" he replied.

"My name," Naruto made a fist and raised it up, "is Naruto Uzumaki!" he yelled as his fist smashed into the smaller ninja sending him flying into the wall behind, which cracked from the force it was hit by. The ninja crumpled in a heap on the floor, and Naruto said, "Unless you want me to get very angry, I'd start talking." Naruto made a rasengan in his hand as he walked over to the other ninja, the chakra swirled malevolently in front of the very frightened looking ninja's face.

"I, I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me. It's just a sleeping agent I swear, it will wear off in a few hours. I didn't get to inject it all. That's it I swear!" he pleaded.

Naruto nodded his head and made a move as if to use the rasengan on the ninja, but one of his clones merely knocked him in the back of the head. Naruto let the chakra die out, and turned to Hinata and Hanabi. Hanabi was staring at him wide eyed, standing protectively in front of Hinata. He sighed, and walked towards them. "Nice kick Hanabi," Naruto said grinning. "Are you OK though, did they give you anything? Hey guys get over here" Naruto said.

Naruto gave Hanabi a hug as she started crying, "I was so scared, they kept telling me they were going to kill her if I tried to resist. I didn't know what to do. They caught me earlier today when I was out picking flowers. They knocked me out before I could do anything," she sobbed.

"Come on we're going home, get on his back OK," Naruto said nodding to one of the clones. "You, take this to Lady Tsunade and have her make sure it's just a sleeping agent," he said handing the half full needle to another clone that grabbed it and took off. Naruto stooped down and scooped Hinata in his arms, cradling her close. "Let's go, you're safe now Hanabi don't worry everything's fine," he said. She nodded, and Naruto and the clone with Hanabi on its' back began walking back towards the forest. Naruto looked over and saw she had already fallen asleep, a smile on her face.


	3. Kissed

Naruto and his clone moved quickly back through the forest. He was careful to move gently, he didn't want to wake Hinata up. As they approached the front gate of Konoha, they were met by a panting Sakura who looked as though she had run all the way from the hospital.

"Naruto, are they all right? Your clone brought me the sample because Tsunade is still recovering, I have Shizune analyzing it now. You should have sent for help before you engaged the enemy, what were you thinking?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, calm down you're gonna wake them up. I didn't know what was going on when I was following her at first I just wanted to talk, and then she left the city and I felt like something was wrong. By the time I knew what was going on it was way too late to call for backup OK...I handled it it's no big deal. We need to make sure they are OK though, how long does it take to analyze something like that?" asked Naruto.

Sakura let out a sigh and replied, "Not long. It looks like Hanabi here is awake, lemme give her a quick look over and if she's OK I'll take her to the Hyuuga manor. I don't know if Hiashi has been informed of the situation yet." Sakura said.

Naruto looked over to see Hanabi climbing down from his clones back. He released the jutsu and said, "I am going to go ahead to the hospital with Hinata, stay with her until she's safe OK Sakura?"

"Of course Naruto, hurry up will you. Shizune will have sent someone to bring you to her," replied Sakura.

Naruto merely nodded and sped off. He was met by Shizune who looked much more happy than Sakura had. "Hey aren't you supposed to be analyzing something?" Naruto asked.

Shizune smiled, "Already done Naruto, it really was a simple sleeping agent. It's possible she might have some sort of reaction to it later so I want her to stay the night, but there shouldn't be an issue. So tell me, why _were_ you following her in the first place? You didn't pick up any of Jiraiya's old habits did you?" she said.

Naruto grinned. "Glad to hear she'll be OK. Where should I ta-" Naruto was cut off by the appearance of several ninja clad in the attire of the Hyuuga household. Hiashi Hyuuga led them with a concerned look on his face.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I thank you for saving not just one, but it would seem both of my daughters today. This village has much to thank you for, and I now owe you a personal debt. Please allow me to take her from here," Hiashi said.

Naruto remained holding Hinata in his arms and replied, "Oh it was nothin. Shizune said she needs to stay here overnight anyways, I can take her to her room if you want. "

Hiashi's eyebrows narrowed and his tone of voice changed from grateful to disapproving, "You have done quite enough Naruto, my attendants will take her from here," he said as he strode past Naruto into the hospital beyond.

Naruto looked dumbfounded as one of the ninja who had come with Hiashi took Hinata from him and followed his master. Had he done something wrong? What was with that look Hiashi had given him. He turned to see Shizune regarding him with a sad face, which she swiftly turned into a grin and said, "Come on Naruto why don't you come see Lady Tsunade. Maybe if she hears your voice it might trigger something to wake her up, you never know."

"Sure I guess so. Hey Shizune, why did Hiashi get all defensive all of a sudden. Did I say something?" Naruto asked.

"There are several reasons he may have acted the way he did Naruto, none of which you need to worry yourself over. The Hyuuga tend to regard all non-Hyuuga members with disrespect and disdain...no don't say it I know not all of them do. Hinata, for instance, is a lovely girl. Come on, Hinata is fine there's nothing to worry about, let's go." she said.

Naruto spent the next several hours visiting Tsunade and Kakashi in the hospital. Kakashi has almost fully recovered and Tsunade looked healthier, although the sleep she was in looked far from natural. He wouldn't have known anything was wrong with her if he didn't know she was in a coma. He was on the way back to his apartments when he saw Sakura heading back to her own home.

"Hey Sakura, how's Hinata? I didn't want to bother them anymore, especially with Hiashi there." he said running to catch up to her.

"With Tsunade in that coma Shizune and I are the two most highly trained medical ninja in this village, and that stupid Hiashi thinks no one should look at his daughter except a Hyuuga clan medic. It's despicable if anything were wrong with her myself or Shizune would be more than adequate to handle the situation, but no, he _respectfully_ declines. That man drives me crazy! To answer your question however, yes Hinata is just fine according to my examination, although she could use some time out of the Hyuuga manor. Sorry Naruto, it's been a long day; I know I'm ranting. What are you doing anyways, heading home?" Sakura replied in one very long winded angry speech.

Naruto laughed. "Haha yeah, I think I might go get some ramen first I haven't eaten all day! Thanks for letting me know Sakura, catch ya later!" he yelled as he dashed away.

'That Naruto...nothing ever gets him down.' Sakura thought.

Naruto barely had to think about where he was going he had been there so many times. His feet guided him straight to Ichiraku's ramen shop, straight to his favorite stool, and his mouth seemed to cry, "Hey old man, gimme some ramen please!" before he even realized he was there. He sat there enjoying his ramen, all his worries forgotten for the time being. He paid and was about to walk out, when Hinata appeared at the doorway looking nervous. Her eyes were downcast as usual when she was around him, and she was touching her pointer fingers together, one of her nervous habits.

"N-Naruto-kun are you leaving?" she asked.

At first Naruto was surprised to see her, then glad, and swiftly concerned. "Hinata! What are you doing out of bed, Sakura said you should be resting. Those guys only gave you a sleeping agent, but there could have been something else hidden, come on I'm taking you back right now," he said as he strode towards her. She didn't look like she was going to turn, so he grabbed her hand to drag her along. "Come on Hinata what are you doing?" he asked.

Hinata suddenly looked like she was about to faint. Naruto quickly put his arm around her, and when he did she really did faint! 'Aw man, she pushed herself too hard, what was she thinking!' he thought. He scooped her up in his arms and ran towards Sakura's house which was much closer than the hospital.

"Sakura! Sakura get down her please," he yelled at her front door. A very sleepy looking Sakura in nothing but a nightgown opened it up. Her eyes snapped wide open when she saw Hinata in Naruto's arms.

"What the hell is going on Naruto? No don't talk you idiot get inside! Here lay her on the couch. What did you do to her? Grab me that bag over there. Well come on what happened. No not that one, that one! You are so useless sometimes Naruto, now what happened?" Sakura was speaking quickly while examining Hinata closely.

Every time Naruto tried to open his mouth to speak, Sakura would interrupt him. He was getting confused about what to say. "Err, I was eating ramen at Ichiraku's, and then when I went to leave I saw Hinata. I got concerned so I told her I was going to take her back to the hospital because she should be resting, and when she didn't look like she was going to follow me I grabbed her hand. She didn't move and when I turned to look at her she was looking at me really weird, and also like she was about to faint. So I put my arm around her to support her and she just fainted right there in the middle of the street!" Naruto tried to explain. "You're house is obviously much closer than the hospital so I brought her here," he finished.

Sakura sighed and suppressed a laugh. "Nothing to worry about Naruto, it was just...errr...she was just tired is all. Go into the kitchen and get me a cool rag please. 'That boy is so clueless sometimes,' she thought.

Naruto returned to find Hinata awake with a very red face, talking to Sakura. "Oh, you're awake! I was really worried there Hinata are you OK now?" Naruto asked.

Hinata's face became even redder as she replied, "Yes N-Naruto-kun thank you. I'm sorry I fainted, I just wanted to come thank you for what you did. I don't know what I was thinking going out there alone, I was just scared for my sister and wanted to get her back. I'll be getting home now, Shizune released me earlier tonight. She told me it was OK if I stay at home," she replied.

Naruto looked concerned. He said, "Well you don't need to be going anywhere alone right now, I'll walk you there. "

They said good night to Sakura who watched them walk away down the street. Naruto seemed carefree as always and chattered as they walked. Hinata was quiet and seemed to be constantly blushing. Naruto stopped walking about half way to the Hyuuga manor and turned on Hinata, "Hey Hinata, why do you always blush when you're around me, and hey now you're doing that thing with your hands too. Are you OK?" he asked.

Hinata's face was so red, you could see it in the dark. "N-Naruto-kun, I...I...um...well...it's because I," she stuttered.

Naruto spoke quietly, "Hinata, do you really like me? Even after all I've done to you, to the village. I mean, I'm technically the host for a monster. I nearly got you killed, I bring danger to everyone around me just by being alive, especially with Akatsuki still out there. I don't see how anyone could ever really like me, as more than a friend at least," he said the last while looking away from her.

Naruto thought that something must have overcame Hinata, because she did something she had never done before. She touched him. Not just a little touch either, Hinata drew him into a hug and buried her face in his chest, he could barely hear her words, "Naruto, I've always both liked and admired you. You never give up no matter how hard things get, you stand up for those weaker than yourself, and your honest and kind. You may be the host for the Kyuubi, but you're not the Kyuubi itself. You suppress it with your own will because you don't want to hurt anyone, and you use it to protect those around you. I...yes I really do like you Naruto...I always will no matter what," she said. She then did something Naruto was totally unprepared for. She kissed him on the cheek, and then turned and fled towards her house.

Naruto was speechless. Hinata didn't mind that the worst kind of beast imaginable lay just beneath his skin. She didn't mind that he was hunted every day by people who would use him, to hurt the entire village. She liked him, she kissed him! Naruto felt his face and realized he must be as red as Hinata usually got around him. He stumbled to his apartment, and lay in his bed dreaming about Hinata. He had to find a way to talk to her alone again, he had to find out what she wanted. Naruto was sure of one thing: he liked Hinata, and he wanted to be with her. She made him feel wanted, normal almost. It was time Naruto Uzumaki no longer walked through Konoha alone.


End file.
